Stephan Benzkofer

Writer

Stephan Benzkofer is the weekend editor, helping to plan and edit the news report for those editions. Benzkofer also edits Chicago Flashback, a weekly history feature, and is co-author with colleague Mark Jacob of the book “10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything,” a compilation of their twice-monthly columns. Benzkofer lives in Oak Park with his family and enjoys traveling, reading and collecting 5k race T-shirts.

Recent Articles

Forty years ago this month, five of the nastiest criminals in the country simply walked out of the maximum security federal prison in downstate Marion, Ill. The five escapees were an awful bunch. Most notorious was Henry Gargano, serving a 199-year sentence for his part in a 1967 Northlake bank...

A war that hit hard at home This wasn't the first so-called milk war, nor would it be the last, but it may have been the most violent. It all started in late summer when some independent dairy farmers started agitating for a better price for their milk. Consumers paid 10 cents per quart, of which...

Donald Trump tops the polls in the Republican race for president, but it's awfully early. At this point in the Democratic race eight years ago, Hillary Clinton was 33 percentage points ahead of Barack Obama in one national poll. And we all know how that turned out. But no matter what the future...

Visitors to the Indianapolis Zoo got a scare last Sunday when a cheetah escaped its holding area, but the cat was confined to a secondary enclosure and never reached the main zoo grounds. Here are 10 zoo facts that have been captured for your observation: 1. Dr. Seuss' 1950 book "If I Ran the Zoo"...

As college students return to classes, Illinois institutions of higher learning are in the news. The University of Illinois dismissed football coach Tim Beckman over alleged mistreatment of his players. And the College of DuPage's board moved to fire President Robert Breuder, whose buyout package...

Happy-hour discounts have returned to Chicago bars under legislation signed recently by Gov. Bruce Rauner. And when Donald Trump insulted Mexican immigrants last month, a Chicago watering hole became part of the news: Bedford Park's 5 Rabbit Cerveceria brewery yanked a specialty beer from a Trump...

The first Republican presidential debate takes place Thursday, and one thing is certain: All but one of the Democrats, Republicans and independents who are seeking the nation's highest office will be losers in the end. Here's a look at 10 facts about failed presidential candidates: 1. A perennial...

Less than two years after police and Democratic National Convention demonstrators rioted in 1968 over the Vietnam War, police and young people battled anew in Grant Park — possibly more violently — over musical artists Sly and the Family Stone. The Monday concert on July 27, 1970, was supposed to...